By Kayla Perry, Editor-in-Chief
Black Forest, an indie horror film that was shot and produced exclusively in Sudbury, will premier this Saturday, Jan. 31 in Sudbury Secondary School’s Sheridan Auditorium.
David Briggs, director and co-founder of Distant Field productions, said the premier will be a “celebration of local art and film culture,” given that the movie was filmed in Sudbury, and approximately eighty percent of the cast are native to the Greater Sudbury area.
Black Forest follows two young women who embark on a canoeing trip in a fictional Northern Ontario park. After a run-in with a mysterious man, the two women realize they are being stalked, and must find their way out of the woods.
“It becomes a tale of survival – the women are stuck in the woods and they need to get home. It’s a thriller horror, and it’s pretty creepy. It’s quite the interesting plot, and it’s more of an intellectual horror, but there’s something for everyone,” described Briggs.
After the Sudbury premier, Briggs will embark on the Northern Frights Tour, which will first travel farther North, to show Black Forest in North Bay and Sault Ste Marie, and then will eventually travel south to host showings in Kitchener, Waterloo and Guelph.
“We’re basically going town to town… Wherever we can show it, we want to bring (the film) to the people,” said Briggs. “It’s kind of like a rock and roll film tour.”
The cast includes star Laurentian University French Theatre program graduate Marie-Josee Dionne, as well as LU Theatre Performance graduate Callam Rodya.
Other cast members, including France Huot, Tricia Rainone, and Valerie Michaud, will star alongside Dionne.
Distant Field is currently shooting it’s second feature film, Sleepwalking, which will also be shot exclusively in the Sudbury area.
For anyone interested in viewing the film but is unable to attend the premier, Briggs said Black Forest will be available on DVD after the Northern Frights Tour.
As for the premier, doors will open at 7:20 p.m. and the show will begin at 7:45 p.m.
Tickets can be purchased online at distantfieldproductions.com, or at the Music and Film in Motion office, located at 40 Larch Street in Downtown Sudbury. Briggs said he is expecting the event to sell out.
“With the way things are going right now, it looks like the show will sell out. It’s a cool horror movie full of twists, but it’s also very cultural… (Black Forest) fosters the idea that if you want to make a film, you can, and you don’t have to wait,” said Briggs.
For more information, contact David Briggs at distantfield@hotmail.com.
